


Cultural Entomology: a Study of Moths and Men

by IcicleWieldingManiac



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Bugs & Insects, Chapter 3 Spoilers, Developing Friendship, Friendship, Introspection, No Romance, but they hint at some big things so proceed with caution, they're subtle so it might be fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-20 16:48:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10666761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcicleWieldingManiac/pseuds/IcicleWieldingManiac
Summary: There's a bug on Shinguuji's hat..





	Cultural Entomology: a Study of Moths and Men

**Author's Note:**

> So I've been slowly but surely working my way through v3, and it became apparent to me very early on that I just. I'm in love with Shinguuji. Somebody help. Like, please send help. This is such a problem I'm.dying I just. ahhhhhh
> 
> but!! it's also been brought to my attention that he's not the most popular of characters, so even though I've yet to finish the game, I thought I would take it upon myself to give him a little love! (or more like inundate this world with love for shinguuji because I will carry the foundation of appreciation for his character on my back if need be hahaha what) This is just a short little thing on friendship that I wanted to get out of my system, but I hope you can all enjoy it!!
> 
> (like I said, subtle spoilers for chapter 3 but they're not very noticeable, so you can probably get by without being spoiled. Just tread with caution though because what's hinted at are some pretty big spoilers even though they're not mentioned overtly)

It’d been sunny as usual when Shinguuji had decided to sit outside for a change. It wasn’t that he was displeased with his research room - _heavens_ no. In fact, the room was so tailored to his tastes that he couldn’t have fashioned a more suitable one if he’d put his whole mind to it, and simply being in the room filled him with a strange alloy of both excitement and comfort. However, none of that did anything to change the indisputable fact that, due to the high concentration of ancient and dusty items, the air in the room was positively swirling with musty aromas and particles of mildew. Staying in such an environment for hours on end is far from healthy for one’s lungs, even with the aid of a mask over the nose and mouth, and so it was with that that Shinguuji had made the decision to air out his book (and himself) by sitting outside for a bit.

It wasn’t yet an hour into his studies when Shinguuji’s eye was drawn to some sort of movement. Without shifting his position, he flickered his eyes up for a quick moment before immediately returning his gaze back down to the pages. It was only Gonta after all, most likely searching for insects in the grass. There was no need to be on guard around Gonta.

Still, there was something somehow distracting about Gonta’s presence on the fringes of Shinguuji’s vision. It was due to his movement, the anthropologist decided, and at times his lack thereof. It also became quite clear to him after a bit that his classmate was creeping closer and closer over time, which seemed to be almost painfully stretched out at this point, and it was just when Shinguuji was about to shut his book and look over that Gonta spoke up:

“Shinguuji-kun, don’t move.”

And so he didn’t. Instead he followed Gonta’s slow, deliberate movements with his gaze. Gonta’s own gaze seemed to be fixed somewhere above Shinguuji’s head, or at the very least above eye level, and he was beginning to reach out with his hands.

“What is it?” Shinguuji inquired softly.

“A _tanna japonensis_ ,” Gonta replied in a hushed voice, creeping ever closer with his hands hovering out. “Ah, Shinguuji-kun, please try to keep your head still!”

“My apologies,” Shinguuji murmured, trying his best to emulate a statue carved out in a fixed position. So it was on his head, then. “Forgive me, but recognizing different types of insects by their scientific nomenclature is not where my strengths lie.”

“Oh, Gonta is sorry!” Gonta gasped, finally cupping his fingers around the brim of Shinguuji’s hat. Carefully, he brought the creature down and smiled when he peeked down at it, then held it out for Shinguuji to view. “See?” he asked, his voice quiet yet brimming with excitement. “It’s a Japanese Cicada.”

“Oh,” Shinguuji said, glancing down at the little creature enclosed in Gonta’s large hands.”I didn’t notice it.”

“He must have really liked Shinguuji-kun to come out of hiding so he could sit on your hat,” Gonta chuckled cheerfully, his eyes closing and crinkling at the edges in a way that made him appear truly happy. “Gonta is very sorry for interrupting your reading, but the bugs never show themselves out here. In fact, to see a bug you would usually have to come to Gonta’s research room.”

“That’s right,” Shinguuji spoke, looking up from his seated position in order to maintain eye contact. “You said before that you couldn’t seem to find any out here. It’s rather odd, don’t you think?”

“Well, Gonta thinks they might be hiding,” the larger boy replied. “It’s like Gonta said; this cicada only came out to sit on Shinguuji-kun’s hat, but he must have come from somewhere.”

“He didn’t come from your research room, then?” Shinguuji inquired.

“No, Gonta doesn’t recognize this cicada. It must be good luck.”

Shinguuji studied his classmate for a moment, then allowed himself a small smile behind his mask as he shut his book. “Kukuku,” he chuckled. “It is fortunate for us to stumble across a cicada of all insects, isn’t it? After all, in China cicadas were traditionally held as signs of rebirth and immortality.”

“Really?” Gonta gasped, his eyes wide with what appeared to be wonder.

“Yes,” Shinguuji replied. “It does seem rather fortunate for us to stumble upon this type of symbol in a situation such as ours. Perhaps it is a good omen.”

“You must mean the killing game,” Gonta murmured. “Well, if it’s good luck then Gonta is happy, especially to be able to share the cicada’s luck with a friend.”

Shinguuji blinked, staring at his classmate for a moment. Friend? Shinguuji hadn’t particularly set out to make friends for himself in this place. He’d simply been content with observing at a distance, and even then Gonta had not been what one would call a top priority for observation - and yet here he was, tossing around such a word as if the dynamic had already been established. Shinguuji smiled again. How intriguing.

“You mean you don’t want all of the good luck for yourself, Gokuhara-kun?” Shinguuji posed.

“No,” Gonta said easily, apparently giving the question little additional thought. “Gonta would rather share the good luck with friends, so it’s good that Shinguuji-san decided to read outside today. After all, without you Gonta wouldn’t have even known the cicada was good luck.”

“Oh yes, it is certainly a symbol of rebirth and immortality, which I’m inclined to believe would be good fortune in a situation like this. Perhaps you would find some traditional Chinese thoughts on bugs interesting, Gokuhara-kun.”

“Oh yes, Gonta would love to hear!” Gonta replied, and there was nothing in his behavior to indicate his excitement was fabricated. “Gonta never knew how important bugs were in China.”

“Insects are significant to cultures and folklore from countries all over the world,” Shinguuji practically purred, caressing the side of his own face with bandaged fingers. “China is just one example. Traditionally in China people would regulate crop planting by the ‘Awakening of Insects.’ The insects would be drawn out by rain during the monsoon season, and people would eat snacks such as pancakes, parched beans, pears, and fried corn to symbolize insects that could be harmful to the crops in the fields.”

“Whoa, Gonta would have never known,” the larger boy beamed. “Shinguuji-kun knows more about bugs than Gonta would have thought, maybe more than Gonta does.”

“Well, that simply cannot be true,” Shinguuji insisted. “As the Super High School Level Entomologist you are by definition the expert on bugs and insects; I simply have a slight bit of knowledge on the matter of insects from a cultural perspective due to a cross section between our two areas of expertise.”

“A cross section,” Gonta mused. “Gonta never realized how much we had in common. Perhaps we could go back to Gonta’s research room to look at bugs and talk about anthropology, if you like. Ah, only if you like, though.”

“I’m doing nothing of importance at the moment,” Shinguuji replied, rising to his feet. “Lead the way, Gokuhara-kun.”

Gonta grinned, then turned and began leading Shinguuji to his research room, going on about how he hated to take the cicada from its home but thought it might be safer to take it with, especially concerning the lack of insects outside his room. Shinguuji watched Gonta with a steady gaze as the two eventually began to walk side-by-side, noting the way he closed his eyes when he chuckled lightly, and the way he peered lovingly down at the insect cupped in his hands. Friends? Was that really what they were? He hadn’t thought he’d done much of anything to warrant such a title from any of his classmates, really. Of course, he tried his best to be amicable, but finding friends of his own had never really been much of a consideration. He tried to think it over. Would such a development be an obstruction to his priorities? How irksome.

_Get it together, Korekiyo - it’s unlike you to be like this - and uneconomical, I know._

That’s right; he had no need for friends for himself, not when he had Nee-san. He longed to speak with her, but he shoved the feeling down.

“Gokuhara-kun,” Shinguuji spoke as they approached the research room.

“Yes?” Gonta asked, opening the door and allowing Shinguuji to enter before he did.

Shinguuji stepped inside, eyeing the wall of terrariums and specimens to the side. “Do you really consider me a friend?”

“Huh? Of course!” Gonta insisted. “Has Gonta done anything to make you think he doesn’t like you?”

“Not particularly,” Shinguuji replied, his demeanor as calm and unperturbed as ever. “Actually, I was thinking the opposite. Just what have I done to pique your interest in becoming my friend?”

Suddenly, Gonta gasped. “Do you not want to be friends? Gonta is sorry for assuming…”

“Ah, that’s not quite what I was getting at,” Shinguuji murmured. “I just don’t understand what’s compelling you. Do you feel a pressure to be kind because of our dire circumstances?”

Gonta stared at him for a moment, and then a wide smile spread across his face, and he laughed as he turned to the wall of insects, searching for a new home for the cicada. His laugh was big and warm, and it filled the space of the room with such a sensation. “Come over here, Shinguuji-kun.”

Moderately puzzled, Shinguuji did as he was told as Gonta finished fixing the cicada with its own terrarium. “Yes?”

Gonta opened another cage, carefully reaching in and taking out a large moth with wings of pure white. It was really quite large, each wing the length of a child’s hand, Shinguuji would have guessed, and its appearance commanded a feeling of majesty, with its hue as pale as lamb’s fleece. “ _Hepialus humuli_ ,” Gonta said, his voice held in some quiet sort of reverence. “The ghost moth. Isn’t it pretty?”

Shinguuji’s eyes locked onto the moth, the way it sat so patiently on the knuckles of Gonta’s rough, calloused hands. It was a fitting name for the creature, having a spectral, ethereal sort of air to it. “It is beautiful,” Shinguuji replied softly. “Fit to be a true spirit.”

Gonta laughed a bit. “Gonta is happy you like it,” he said. “Here, hold out your hand, Shinguuji-kun.”

Shinguuji’s eyes widened a bit, though from surprise or apprehension he wasn’t sure. Still, Gonta coaxed his hand forward, then carefully placed the moth so it was sitting calmly in Shinguuji’s bandaged palm.

“Gonta is sure Shinguuji-kun knows much about spirits,” Gonta added as Shinguuji stared down at the insect perched in his grasp. “So Gonta thought maybe you would like to see that one.”

“Thank you,” Shinguuji replied, though he kept his gaze on the moth. “That was very thoughtful of you, Gokuhara-kun.”

Gonta watched him for a bit, then turned back to the insect wall. “A lot of the time, insects want to be noticed by each other,” he explained. “It’s true that they usually want to hide themselves from dangerous creatures, creatures like us. But they mostly want to be noticed by each other, I think. That’s why lightning bugs have their lights, and why ghost moths have their pretty white wings and dance like spirits in the air in beautiful patterns. Even the cicada we found outside wants other cicadas to notice it. It may not have what we think of as a beautiful appearance, but it has one of the most powerful and distinguished chirping sounds. So really - when you really think about it - people aren’t that different from bugs, I don’t think.”

Shinguuji glanced back up at Gonta, unable to help the smile creeping across his lips beneath his mask. “Kukukuku, how peculiar of you to relate the two in such a manner,” he spoke. “Typically when one relates man to insect the connotation is a negative one, but then, you are the Super High School Level Entomologist. It only makes sense for you to hold insects in a higher regard, but really, that’s quite an exquisite connection you’ve made there.”

“Do you really think so?” Gonta inquired. He was still facing the insects, but the wonder in his voice was impossible to miss.

“I do,” Shinguuji replied, glancing back down at the stark white moth with its round, fuzzy body.

“Well, it’s just that Gonta thinks it’s true,” Gonta offered. “After spending so long in the woods people can sometimes be hard for Gonta to Understand. But Gonta can understand bugs, so if Gonta can find similarities between people and bugs- ah!”

Shinguuji glanced up, only to see a large dragonfly dart out and away from the wall of terrariums, turning up towards the ceiling of the research room. Instantaneously Gonta had his net in hand, as if propelled by instinct over any sort of conscious mental processing, but the dragonfly was already out of reach.

“Gonta is so stupid!” the larger boy cried out. “So stupid and thoughtless! If Gonta had been paying closer attention the dragonfly would not have escaped!”

“You shouldn’t say such things,” Shinguuji advised calmly. “Clearly your intelligence is not lacking, nor is it the cause of this predicament. I’m sure if we are calm and patient there will be an opportunity to catch it.”

“Ah,” Gonta breathed, seeming to relinquish the tension in his shoulders, allowing them to slump. “You’re right, Shinguuji-kun. If we stay calm the dragonfly will come down. What would Gonta do if you weren’t here?”

“Please, do not give me more credit than is due,” Shinguuji insisted. “You should have faith in your abilities, Gokuhara-kun. If you are unable to catch that dragonfly then I doubt anybody could, unless by pure luck alone. As Super High School Level-”

“Ah, Shinguuji-kun!”

Shinguuji looked up in time to see the dragonfly suddenly swooping down, eventually coming to land directly on the brim of his hat as the cicada had before, with one of its wings still somewhat visible over the edge. “Oh,” he mumbled in a quiet voice. “I guess we don’t have to be too patient, then.”

“Wow, the bugs really do like you, Shinguuji-kun!” Gonta beamed excitedly. “You must be so lucky for them to like you so much! Is the dragonfly a symbol of good luck too?”

Shinguuji parted his lips to speak, but paused for a reason he couldn’t quite explain when he caught a glimpse of the the room filtered through the iridescent lense of the dragonfly’s wing. The words were practically perched on his tongue: _Actually, while it is true that dragonflies have varying associations across different cultures and that in Japan the association would most likely be at least somewhat positive, given its generally positive use in haiku, in this case I would be inclined to be dubious of any positive interpretations. You see, dating all the way back to the ancient literature of Mesopotamia, and even specifically reflected in the ever famous Epic of Gilgamesh, dragonflies were held as symbols of the impossibility of immortality, and negative associations with dragonflies still permeate much of the Western world. We shouldn’t be so naive as to cling to our narrow view of them and ignore the cultures of many, especially given its pertinence to our situation and the direct counterbalance it could prove to be to the cicada from-_

“Yes, it is good luck,” Shinguuji somehow found himself saying, his gaze stuck on Gonta’s red eyes through the filter of the dragonfly’s shimmery wings. He blinked slowly, then looked back down at the ghost moth still sitting ever so calmly in his hand. “After all,” he breathed softly, as if whispering to the spectral insect before him, “that’s what good luck is for, right? Sharing with friends?”

 

_...So, what is it that friends are for then, Gokuhara-kun?_

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I hope some of you at least found some enjoyment in this dumb little thing!! I just think Shinguuji is a pretty interesting character, and I like getting a chance to put myself in his head for a bit and explore his thoughts. I'd like to thank Star for being an angel on this earth and beta reading this for me, too. I love you Star!!! And I'd also like to thank all of you for taking the time to read this!!! Feedback is always appreciated, and I love you guys so much!!


End file.
